Therapeutic use of resveratrol for hyperglycemia

ABSTRACT

The resveratrol, an antioxidant found in various fruits, vegetables, grapes, and red wines, has been shown to have free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombogenic activities in the biological systems. Moreover, resveratrol has also been shown to be a good cancer preventive chemical and has been recommended as a food supplement for health benefits. Recently, we found that resveratrol can effectively lower the blood sugar in both type 1 (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM) and type 2 (insulin-independent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM) diabetic rats. Resveratrol could also delay the onset of the insulin-resistant phenotype in the experimental rats with prolonged injection of insulin. Further, resveratrol simultaneously slow down the body weight increment compared with the untreated insulin resistant animals.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the therapeutic use of resveratrol in reducing blood sugar levels for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM)

2. Description

Diabetes can be due to a deficiency of insulin, or to a decreased responsiveness to insulin. Thus, diabetes is several diseases with different causes. Diabetes is classified into type 1 and type 2 based on how much insulin a person's pancreas is secreting. In type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, IDDM), insulin secretion is completely or nearly completely absent from the β-cells of the islets of Langerhans, and therapy with insulin is essential. In type 2 diabetes mellitus (insulin-independent diabetes mellitus, NIDDM), insulin is usually present at nearly normal or above normal levels. However, in about one third of NIDDM patients, insulin therapy is beneficial.

It was estimated that DM affects about 130 million people in the developed countries worldwide, and by year 2025, about 300 million will be affected. Thus, the development of new effective antihyperglycemic drugs for both IDDM and NIDDM patients is of great medical importance. Currently, insulin injection is the only way to lower the plasma sugar for IDDM patients. For NIDDM patients, current treatment is the administration of sulfonylurea related drugs to stimulate insulin secretion by β-cells, or biguanides to promote the response of peripheral tissue to insulin. Administration of insulin is beneficial to about one third of the NIDDM patients; however, the development of insulin-resistance may aggravate the problem. So far, no drug has been developed that could have therapeutic antihyperglycemic efficacy on both IDDM and NIDDM patients. Here we provide data shown that trans-resveratrol has antihyperglycemic effects on both IDDM and NIDDM rats. In addition, resveratrol also delays the onset of insulin-resistance in long term insulin administrated rats. Further, resveratrol also slows down the body weight increment compared with the untreated insulin-resistant animals.

The findings described here would favor the medical community for the development of resveratrol as an antihyperglycemic drug and as a healthy food supplement to lower the levels of plasma sugar in IDDM, NIDDM and in obese people.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide the use of resveratrol as a antihyperglycemic drug for both type 1 and type DM.

Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in various fruits, vegetables, grapes, and red wines, has been shown to have free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombogenic activities in the biological systems. Moreover, resveratrol has also been shown to be a good cancer preventive chemical and has been recommended as a food supplement for health benefits. Here, we show that resveratrol can effectively lower the levels of blood sugar in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic rats. Resveratrol also delays the onset of the insulin-resistant phenotype in the experimental rats induced by prolonged injection of insulin. Further, resveratrol also slows down the body weight increment compared with the untreated insulin-resistant animals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a bar graph of antihyperglycemic effect of resveratrol in normal SD rats;

FIG. 2 is a bar graph of antihyperglycemic effect of resveratrol in IDDM SD rats;

FIG. 3 is a bar graph of antihyperglycemic effect of resveratrol in NIDDM SD rats;

FIG. 4 is a bar graph of antihyperglycemic effect of resveratrol in insulin resistance SD rats;

FIG. 5 is a bar graph of the comparison of the antihyperglycemic effect of resveratrol in normal, IDDM, insulin resistance and NIDDM SD rats; and

FIG. 6 shows that resveratrol slows down the body weight increment in insulin-resistant rats compared to the untreated rats.

METHODS

Animals and Treatment

Eight week-old Sprage-Dawley (SD) rats (body weight from 200 gm to 250 gm) were maintained in the Animal Center of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, under an ambient temperature of 25±1° C. and a light-dark period of 12 hrs. Animals were fed with normal chow and water.

Resveratrol was first dissolved in DMSO and diluted to 0.05 mg, 0.1 mg and 0.5 mg per ml with normal saline. Animals were fed with desired amounts of drug solutions through tubing incubated from mouth into the stomach.

Induction of Type 1 DM (IDDM)

Male rats were fasted for 72 hrs and anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital at 30 mg/kg body weight. Animals were then injected with freshly prepared streptozotocin (STZ) solution at 65 mg/kg body weight intravenously. Three days later, blood sugar was measured. Animals with blood sugar levels above 400 mg/dl and symptoms of polyphargia, polyuria and polydipsia are classified as being induced to IDDM.

Induction of Type 2 DM (NIDDM)

A. Insulin Resistance: Male SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with insulin (Monotard® HM; Novo Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark, 0.5 IU/kg, tid) for 2 weeks. The development of insulin resistance is confirmed by tolbutamide test (11).

B. NIDDM: Male SD rats were fasted for 48 hrs and anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital at 30 mg/kg body weight. Animals were then injected with nicotinamide (100 mg/kg, ip) and streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, iv). Four weeks later, plasma glucose concentration was determined by the glucose oxidase method (Chemistry Analyzer; Autoanalyzer Quik-Lab., Ames, Spain). Animals with fasting blood sugar levels around 200 mg/dl and the development of an obese phenotype are classified as being induced to NIDDM.

Measurement of Blood Sugar

Normal, IDDM, and NIDDM SD rats were fasted for 8 hrs and anesthetized by pentobarbital (30 mg/kg, ip). Animals were fed with different dosages of resveratrol (0.05 mg, 0.1 mg, or 0.5 mg per kg body weight), and blood samples were then collected from femoral vein at the time points 0, 60, 90, and 120 min. Ten μl plasma was mixed with 1 ml glucose kit reagent and incubated at 37° C. 10 min. The blood sugar level was determined as described.

Statistical Analysis

Data were expressed as mean±standard error (S.E.). Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA (analysis of variance) followed by Dunnett test, and the significant difference was set at P<0.05.

Results

Hypoglycemic Effect of Resveratrol in Normal SD Rats

Male SD rats were fed with resveratrol at 0.05 mg, 0.1 mg, or 0.5 mg per kg body weight and plasma glucose level was measured at 90 min after drug feeding. As shown in FIG. 1, resveratrol reduced blood sugar levels with a dose-dependent manner. Resveratrol reduced blood sugar by 25.72±4.03% and 35.53±2.0% at 0.1 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg, respectively.

Antihyperglycemic Effect of Resveratrol in IDDM SD Rats

IDDM SD rats were fed with resveratrol at 0.05 mg, 0.1 mg, or 0.5 mg per kg body weight and the blood sugar was measured at 90 min after drug feeding. Resveratrol at 0.1 mg and 0.5 mg per kg body weight, reduced blood sugar levels by 21.00±5.84% and 23.00±1.89%, respectively (FIG. 2).

Antihyperglycemic Effect of Resveratrol in NIDDM SD Rats

NIDDM rats were fed with resveratrol and blood sugar was then measured as described. Resveratrol at 0.1 mg and 0.5 mg per kg body weight reduced blood sugar levels by 28.3±1.67% and 32.1±1.62%, respectively (FIG. 3). Moreover, in NIDDM insulin-resistant rats, administration of resveratrol also exhibited a dose-dependent hypoglycemic effect as that observed in NIDDM rats (FIG. 4)

Comparison of the Antihyperglycemic Efficacy of Resveratrol in Normal, IDDM, and NIDDM SD Rats

Normal, IDDM, NIDDM, and NIDDM insulin-resistant SD rats (8 animals in each group) were all treated with resveratrol at 0.5 mg/kg. Ninety minutes after drug feeding, blood sugar was reduced by 35.53±2.0%, 23.00±1.89%, 24.86±1.32%, and 32.1±1.62%, in normal, IDDM, NIDDM, and NIDDM insulin-resistant rats, respectively compared to that of the untreated (no resvertrol) counterparts (FIG. 5).

Resveratrol Prolonged the Development of Insulin-Resistance in SD Rats

Male SD rats were intraperitoneally injected with insulin at 0.5 IU/kg, tid with or without resveratrol feeding (0.5 mg/kg BW, bid) Animals without resveratrol feeding started to develop insulin resistance on day 16.5±1.5. In contrast, development of insulin resistance in the resveratrol-fed animals was delayed till 23.5±1.5 days. In addition, resveratrol reduced the body weight increase by 6% compared with the untreated insulin-resistant animals (FIG. 6)

CONCLUSION

Our results suggested that resveratrol possessed antihyperglycemic efficacy in both IDDM and NIDDM animals. Moreover, resveratrol also delayed the development of insulin-resistance of the experimental animals and effectively slowed down the body weight increase of the insulin-resistant animals.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. 

1. A method for proving the resveratrol having antihyperglycemic efficacy comprising the following steps of: step 1: preparing rats that are divided into groups of sprage-dawley (SD), insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and insulin-independent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM); step 2: the rats of the groups of SD, IDDM and NIDDM respectively fed with resveratrol in different dosages; step 3: observing the antihyperglycemic efficacy between the rats after being fed resveratrol for a period of time when the dosage of resveratrol is gradually increased; and step 4: the rats of the group SD being syringed with insulin every day for a period of time and the rats of the group SD causing antihyperglycemic efficacy, in addition, the rats of the group SD fed with resveratrol causing antihyperglycemic efficacy, too.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resveratrol is dissolved in homemade saline solution and the dosages are respectively 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mg/ml and irrigated into the stomach rats, the dosages being selected due to the weight of the rats.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the SD rats is eight week-old, maintained under an ambient temperature of 25±1° C. and a light-dark period of 12 hrs, and fed with normal chow and water.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rats of group IDDM are selected from the SD rats, fasted for 72 hrs and anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital at 30 mg/kg body weight, the IDDM rats being injected with freshly prepared streptozotocin (STZ) solution at 65 mg/kg body weight intravenously, three days later, blood sugar being measured, the rats with blood sugar levels above 400 mg/dl and symptoms of polyphargia, polyuria and polydipsia being classified as being induced to IDDM.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rats of group NIDDM are selected from the SD rats, fasted for 48 hrs, anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of pentobarbital at 30 mg/kg body weight and injected with nicotinamide (100 mg/kg, ip) and streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, iv), four weeks later, plasma glucose concentration being determined by the glucose oxidase method (Chemistry Analyzer; Autoanalyzer Quik-Lab., Ames, Spain), the selected rats with fasting blood sugar levels around 200 mg/dl and the development of an obese phenotype being classified as being induced to NIDDM. 